Meeting Summary: September 1, 2011

Attendees:

   Diane, Fiona, Peter and Donna Howes

Guest Presentation

   Donna Howes presented an update on cycling related initiatives in the DWV: 
         - Westport Rd, which is one of the routes under Hwy 1, has now got a bike lane for cyclists in uphill direction;
         - Glenmore Dr. to Deep Dene -- lines repainted and curve added at intersection of Deep Dene w/Glenmore. Sharrows and single file bike signage will be installed as well;
         - Roundabouts planned for Keith Road and Marine Drive near Gleneagles School and going in where Crosscreek Road meets Chartwell Drive between Hollyburn Country Club
         - and Sentinel Secondary;
         - The Spirit Trail extension from Bridge Road to Whonoak, on the north side of Welch Street, is out for tender;
         - A multi-purpose new bridge is being designed now and will be built in 2012, north side and parallel to the Park Royal Bridge.  The money's there for it.;
         - Cycle Network Implementation Plan Working Group is going to be set up in September to manage input and work with WV engineers.  They're looking for 3-4 
           volunteers from WV (ideally, but could be NS) who have experience, who can commit to 4 months.

Routine Business

         - June minutes were reviewed;
         - Steph Gray (VACC) would like the next Streetwise course on Sept. 24 to go in the North Shore News or other local newspaper.

Education & Outreach

   Report on MP John Weston's Ride the Riding (Peter)
         - On Monday, 22 August, Bill Roddie and Diane Murray came to the Pemberton Heights Corner Store and we rode with John to the Spirit Trail 
           behind Park Royal South where we met with MLA Ralph Sultan. Rick Amantea, Vice President of Park Royal Shopping Centre soon joined us. 
           The main topic of discussion at the  meeting was what could be done to advance the planned construction of a cyclist/pedestrian bridge 
           over the Capilano River from Park Royal South with a connecting multi-purpose path to the completed section of the Spirit Trial in the DNV
           which begins at Whonoak Road and Welch Street. I was pleasantly surprised to see how keen Rick was on seeing more cycling infrastructure
           at Park Royal, including bike lanes connecting the east end of the Spirit Trail by Park Royal South to Marine Drive at the proposed signaled
           intersection by the entrance to the Village at Park Royal. He even mentioned including facilities for cyclists if the proposed residential 
           development at the location of the White Spot goes ahead. He seemed frustrated, that despite the donation from Park Royal of $500,000, 
           it doesn't appear that construction of the cyclist/pedestrian bridge across the Capilano River or the connecting trail to the Spirit Trail
           in the DNV will be completed this year. Ralph Sultan said he would like to see an architecturally designed wooden bridge. 
           John said he would like to convene a meeting to try to expedite this project that would include he, Ralph, Rick and representatives from
           the DWV and the Squamish Nation. They agreed that such a meeting  would probably not be possible until November at the earliest.  
           Ralph suggested that they also invite Kevin Falcon, Minister of Finance, who is a cyclist and  lives on the North Shore.
         - During the afternoon, I rode in light rain with John to Lions Bay where he met with constituents at a coffee shop, then we rode back to West Van.
         - On Wednesday, the 24th, I accompanied John on a bicycle ride to Britannia Beach where he met with constituents. john continued on to Squamish
           and whistler while I returned to West Van 

   Grant application for North Shore bike map (Antje by email)
         - Antje's draft MEC application was reviewed and thought to be well prepared
         - It was suggested that while we should proceed with the MEC application, we still may want to consider one to VanCity as well and also possibly 
           the North Shore Credit Union as they have branches in all three municipalities on the North Shore.
         - Antje would appreciate a fairly quick response on whether the District of West Vancouver is able to provide a letter of support to the VACC 
           to increase our chances of receiving the grant to produce the cycling map. The grant would pay for designing and printing a pocket size folding
           map that would show urban bike routes, the North Shore Spirit Trail and other multi-use paths. Donna Howes will follow up at a meeting with 
           Raymond Fung on Friday.

  New "Welcome to the Vancouver - discover by bike" brochures
         - Diane picked up a stack of the new brochures, partly sponsored by the VACC from the VACC office and passed them out for distribution
           along with a few copies of the latest edition (Summer 2011) of the "urbane cyclist" and some credit-card-sized bike Vancouver maps. 
  

Hot Spots & Issues

   VACC-Iron Workers Memorial Bridge Committee's brief (Fiona:
         - Fiona summarized a 6-page paper produced by the VACC IWMB Committee;
         - Primary concerns include sub-standard sidewalk widths (no shy distance = no	room for error), steep grades, substandard railings, poorly maintained
           surface,inconvenient access, noise/pollution and general conflated effects such as long travel times and high crosswinds;
         -  Proposed improvement options are: wider sidewalks on existing bridge, a new path under the deck of existing bridge or a new bike/pedestrian crossing;
         - Given the age of the IWMB, a totally new bridge could be another option, but if that takes 10 years to implement, then we would like immediate improved
           access at the south end (Skeena Tunnel, switchback,	use of the McGill St. off-ramp);
         - The VACC IWMB Committee is planning to speak to Burnaby VACC (Sept.8) and Vancouver VACC later in September, to get their feedback, too, before going 
           to the city councils and then to MoT. 

   Update on DNV plans to improve cycling infrastructure (Peter)
         - Capilano Road bike lanes: Annie Kim to draft a signage plan for our review and a possible bike box at Garden Avenue and Marine Drive
         - West 1st St bike lanes
         - Sharrows on Marine Drive
         - E Keith Road repaving, Sutherland to Mountain Highway" bike lanes up, sharrows down
         - Bike lanes and or sharrows on Capilano Road Highway to Grouse Mountain a high priority but not yet planned
         - Dollarton Highway from Riverside Drive to Mt Seymour Parkway has been repaved with wider lanes, sharrows and signs will be added when funds become available 
         - Spirit Trail from Pemberton to Mckay Road to be completed this fall
         - Lillooet Road from Seymour Parkway to Cap U: separated bike lane to start soon
         - Mt Seymour Parkway up to Indian River Drive  to be repaved with wider bike lanes
         - MoT to improve pathway from Wet View to Pemberton pedestrian Overpass and wants input on closing Loyld Ave exit 
         - new bike route from Main Street/Harbour Avenue along Barrow Street to connect to Iron Workers Memorial Bridge 

   Stanley Park Cycling Plan - public open house tents in Stanley Park on Saturday, September 10th , 2011,  10am to 4pm
         - Diane will try to attend